Today's attacks come a week after two days of militant-led assaults took some 60 lives, said AP.

The spike in violence is seen as tied to growing Sunni anger against the country's Shiite government.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for today's attacks, the worst of which reportedly took the lives of six people in a car bomb blast at an army checkpoint south of Baghdad, said The Australian.

In another incident today near the Beiji's oil refinery in the north, two government workers and three guards were killed as they were delivering salary payments, said AP, citing officials as saying they are searching for those responsible.